As businesses grow, they go through several distinct stages – from startup through maturity. There are several different models used to describe these states. One of the most popular systems, originally published in the Harvard Business Review, divides businesses into five stages. As detailed in a more user-friendly manner here, these phases are: (1) Existence, (2) Survival, (3) Success, (4) Take-Off, and (5) Maturity.

However, this five-stage model does little to guide the business owner in setting personal goals. The Harvard model is of little value when trying to answer even simple questions like “when do I get to take a vacation?” or “when can I retire?” That’s why we developed our own four-stage model that we use to guide our business owner clients in managing business growth. This article will describe the four stages of the “PrivateCounsel Business Growth Model.”